- Tahoe Neuro HealingVan Harding, LAc, Dipl.OM
Truckee, CA Life's A Journey. Make It A Healthy One.
Articles by Van Harding
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture has been studied for years in the west to scientifically understand how these little needles provoke healing. Here are a few of the conclusions:
1. Acupuncture increases the circulation of blood- reducing pain and swelling
2. It causes the release of certain neurotransmitters- benefitting mental health
3. Acupuncture stimulates the natural release of opioids- reducing pain
4. A reaction with the central nervous system occurs- benefitting overall health.See the Scientific Research section under FAQs.
Why Herbs & Nutraceuticals instead of pharmaceutical drugs?
Herbs and Nutraceuticals correct the underlying dysfunctional biological mechanism that causes the symptoms whereas drugs only seek to alleviate the symptom.
Herbs and nutraceuticals are safer than drugs. According to the CDC there are “0” deaths annually due to herbs and nutraceuticals whereas prescription drugs cause approxiamtely 250,000 deaths annually.
2010 Drug Overdose Deaths: 38,329 and of that 30% were Anti-anxiety meds and 18% were Anti-depressant.
2008 Pain Relief Medication deaths: 14,800
2007 NIH: Surveillance of prescription drug-related mortality using death certificates
Military Pokes Holes in Acupuncture Skeptic’s Theory
by Blake Farmer Feb. 16, 2012The US Army has begun to make Acupuncture more widely available to troops returning home for P.T.S.D, Traumatic Brain Injury and back pain.
Research Articles
Electroacupuncture up-regulates natural killer cell activity Identification of genes altering their expressions in electroacupuncture induced up-regulation of natural killer cell activity.
See comment in PubMed Commons below J Neuroimmunol. 2005 Nov;168(1-2):144-53. Electroacupuncture up-regulates natural killer cell activity Identification of genes altering their expressions in electroacupuncture induced up-regulation of natural killer cell activity. Kim CK1, Choi GS, Oh SD, Han JB, Kim SK, Ahn HJ, Bae H, Min Continue reading
Correlated Change in Upper Limb Function and Motor Cortex Activation After Verum and Sham Acupuncture in Patients with Chronic Stroke
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. June 2007, Vol. 13, Issue 5
13(5): 527-532. doi:10.1089/acm.2007.6316. Correlated Change in Upper Limb Function and Motor Cortex Activation After Verum and Sham Acupuncture in Patients with Chronic Stroke
To cite this article:
Judith D. Schaechter, Brendan D. Connell, William B. Stason, Ted J. Kaptchuk, David E. Krebs, Eric A. Macklin,
The salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: Limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network modulation
This study was presented in part at:
the Society for Neuroscience Annual Conference, Oct 2006, Atlanta, GA, USA. The salient characteristics of the central effects of acupuncture needling: Limbic-paralimbic-neocortical network modulation† Jiliang Fang1,2,*, Zhen Jin3, Yin Wang4, Ke Li3, Jian Kong2, Erika E. Nixon2, Yawei Zeng3, Yanshuang Ren1, Haibin Tong1, Yinghui Wang4, Ping Wang1 and Kathleen Kin-Sang Continue reading
Neuroimaging Acupuncture Effects in the Human Brain
Neuroimaging Acupuncture Effects in the Human Brain
To cite this article:
Rupali P. Dhond, Norman Kettner, and Vitaly Napadow. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. August 2007, 13(6): 603-616. doi:10.1089/acm.2007.7040.
Published in Volume: 13 Issue 6: August 25, 2007
Rupali P. Dhond, Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Continue reading
Electro-Acupuncture to Affected Arm in Acute Stroke
Electrical acupoint stimulation of the affected arm in acute stroke: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial Stephanie SY Au-Yeung1 Christina WY Hui-Chan1,2
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
2Department of Physical Therapy, University Continue reading
Capturing amplitude changes of low-frequency fluctuations in functional magnetic resonance imaging signal: a pilot acupuncture study on NeiGuan_PC6.
2012 Apr;18(4):387-93. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0205.
Capturing amplitude changes of low-frequency fluctuations in functional magnetic resonance imaging signal: a pilot acupuncture study on NeiGuan (PC6). Zhang G1, Yin H, Zhou YL, Han HY, Wu YH, Xing W, Xu HZ, Zuo XN. Department of Acupuncture, No. 1 Affiliated Hospital, Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Continue reading
Acupuncture fMRI of Stroke Aphasia
An fMRI study showing the effect of acupuncture in chronic stage stroke patients with aphasia.
J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2010 Mar;3(1):53-7. doi: 10.1016/S2005-2901(10)60009-X.
Abstract
Acupuncture is used as a treatment in stroke patients with aphasia, yet the underlying neural mechanisms are unknown. This study aims to examine the
Connectomics: A New Direction in Research to Understand the Mechanism of Acupuncture
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2014 (2014), Article ID 568429, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/568429 Review Article Connectomics: A New Direction in Research to Understand the Mechanism of Acupuncture Ruirui Sun,1 Yue Yang,2 Zhengjie Li,1 Ying Li,1 Shirui Cheng,1 and Fang Zeng1
1The Acupuncture and Tuina School, The 3rd Teaching Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 37, Shierqiao Road, Chengdu,
Electro-Acupuncture on Hegu Cerebral Response with fMRI & Pain Relief
Study on the regulatory effect of electro-acupuncture on hegu point (LI4) in cerebral response with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Wang W1, Liu L, Zhi X, Huang JB, Liu DX, Wang H, Kong XQ, Xu HB. Author information 1Radiology Department, Union Hospital Affiliated to Continue reading
* Acupuncture & Post Stroke Motor Recovery
Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2004 Dec;18(4):259-67. Effects of acupuncture treatment on poststroke motor recovery and physical function: a pilot study. Alexander DN1, Cen S, Sullivan KJ, Bhavnani G, Ma X, Azen SP; ASAP study group. Author information 1Daniel Freeman Continue reading